WATCH ABOVE: On Saturday morning, April 4, 2015 not long before sunrise eastern time, the bright full moon over North America turned a lovely shade of celestial red during a total lunar eclipse.
TORONTO — The first lunar eclipse of the year takes place on Saturday and, once again, Canada is in a great place to catch it. But you’ll have to get up pretty early.
The eclipse is the third in a tetrad — a series of four total lunar eclipses in a row. The first eclipse was April 15, 2014, followed by one on Oct. 8, 2014, and the final one being Sept. 28, 2015.
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But while most total eclipses last for about an hour, this one is extremely short — just four minutes and 43 seconds.
A lunar eclipse happens when the moon crosses the Earth’s shadow. Our planet actually casts two shadows: a penumbral shadow, which is the outer, lighter part, and an umbral shadow, the darkest part.
But when the moon passes through the darkest part, it doesn’t disappear as the sun does during a solar eclipse. Instead, the moon turns a red or copper colour.
Though the eclipse will be visible at some stage or another — partial or total — the west coast is the place to be. That’s because the eclipse starts in the wee hours of the morning. The west coast will see most of the eclipse, while in the east, such as Toronto, totality will start after the moon sets.
The penumbral eclipse starts at 9:01 Universal Time (5:01 a.m. EDT, 2:01 a.m. PDT). You probably won’t notice much, though.
But at 10:15 UT (6:15 a.m. EDT, 3:15 a.m. PDT) the partial eclipse begins. Totality starts at 11:58 UT (7:58 a.m. EDT, 4:58 a.m. PDT) and ends at 12:02 p.m. UT (8:02 a.m. EDT, 5:02 a.m. PDT).
So if you get up pretty early, head outside and be sure to bundle up. If you’re on the west coast, the moon will be in the southwest. If you’re in the east, it will be in the west and will set before totality begins. But at least you’ll be able to see some part.
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